The selective removal and recovery of fermentation inhibitors during purification of sugars from biomass hydrolysates can increase the economic efficiency of the entire process to produce bioalcohol from lignocellulosic biomass. This study investigated the effect of furans in phenols-free biomass hydrolysate on acetic acid extraction in an emulsion liquid membrane system. Under specific operating conditions, more than 99% of acetic acid could be extracted within 5 minutes, and the degrees of extraction of furfural and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural were about 10% and 4%, respectively. The extraction rate of acetic acid was also lower at a higher initial concentration of furfural in the feed phase, which was greater for furfural than 5-hydroxymethylfurfural. Thus, if furfural is first removed from the hydrolysate prior to acetic acid extraction, emulsion liquid membrane would be a more economically efficient way of removing acetic acid.